Teacher Debunks Santa Claus In Front Of Seven Year Olds

http://www.ldnews.com/fastsearchresults/ci_3334327

<snip>

Grinchy remark sends kids home in tears

By RORY SCHULER
Staff Writer
Lebanon Daily News
Lebanon Daily News

LICKDALE — Jamey Schaeffer stretched her mouth open wide, showing off a pair of twin gaps in her smile. With a mouthful of fingers, she said she has no interest in two front teeth for Christmas. Instead, she’d like a Barbie doll from Santa Claus — and Santa Claus only.

But a substitute music teacher almost came between the 6-year-old and a Christmas Eve spent dancing cheek to cheek with sugar plums. Theresa Farrisi stood in for Schaeffer’s regular music teacher one day last week. One of her assignments was to read Clement C. Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” to a first-grade class at Lickdale Elementary School.

“The poem has great literary value, but it goes against my conscience to teach something which I know to be false to children, who are impressionable,” said Farrisi, 43, of Myerstown. “It’s a story. I taught it as a story. There’s no real person called Santa Claus living at the North Pole.”

Farrisi doesn’t believe in Santa Claus, and she doesn’t think anyone else should, either. She made her feelings clear to the classroom full of 6- and 7-year-olds, some of whom went home crying. Schaeffer got off the school bus later that day, dragging her backpack in the mud, tears in her angry little eyes. “She yelled at me, ‘Why did you lie?’” recalled Jamey’s mother, Elizabeth. “‘Why didn’t you tell me Santa Claus died?’”

<snip>

but that bit in the last paragraph about SC dying was more than a bit over the top. Actually I was probably 6 or 7 when I figured out the SC bit was bullshit - it helped that I had older cousins that clued me in. I don't recall being particularly shocked or pissed about it.

"I kinda' figured that"
No big Deal..

I don't think so.

He's eight.

Not a big deal, but it's different this year.

A lot of the magic is gone.

Taught him the traditional Saint Nicholas story instead. Hope that gives him something to hold onto.

Anyway, this is just a substitute teacher who is a dumbass. Having taught 10 years, I've seen good subs and subs who are dumbasses.

Easy solution is just to mark this one off the list, apologize to the parents and just be happy it was a Santa story and not a child molestor or something else.

If you can imagine how parents who don't celebrate have to deal with their children after being indoctrinated into believing that Santa exists in a public school.

She would not have subjected the children to it at all if she really wanted to "save" them. AND she should have been willing to take her lumps from her higher-ups.

:headbang:
rocknation

in particular, who'd be mighty pissed if anyone told their young children Santa isn't real. If the teacher didn't want to read the story, fine, but the editorializing was unnecessary and inappropriate. Choosing how and when to tell a child the truth about Santa Claus is a job reserved for parents. That 43-year-old teacher should have known better.

...as soon as they were old enough to understand what the Santa Claus people referred to was. I see no reason to start them off on bullshit. The imagination is wonderous enough that we don't need to supplement it with utter pap. Bah humbug! War on Christmas I say!

Ms. Farrisi was way out of line here.

Most kids about 7-8 years of age figure things out on their own, but some don't. Hell, they're children. Leave them some wonder...

And I reacted angrily that my friend was telling me those lies.

Now I know how a freeper feels.

She must be special forces.....black ops.

Right-Wingers like to dream-up in-between their regularly scheduled sessions of rubbing one off. I mean, COME ON...what else is their to do in Lickdale BUT fantasize?

Pffft...another bogus salvo in the bogus war on Christmas.

"but if this is the truth and nothing but".

I'm expecting to hear about this "attack" tonight at my family's Christmas Eve gathering.

I'm praying that I keep a civil tongue and don't piss everyone in my family off, when they start sputtering about this.

Good luck, and Merry Christmas!! :hi:

I am not saying I believe it but it is getting lots of net time.

Which in all likelihood is exactly why it was created.

A substitute teacher pulling a stupid stunt like this? In this economy? With this job market? I'm just sayin'...

There are usually lots of details missing.

from her ass. The world is a cold,hard, viscious, and unfair place. Kids learn that soon enough. Let them enjoy a little magic and mystery while they still can.

“The poem has great literary value, but it goes against my conscience to teach something which I know to be false to children, who are impressionable,”
So you think it's your job to make every six and seven year old as uptight and cynical as you? Piss off.

Children are impressionable, ma'am. And they are really good at sniffing out crappy subs. Maybe she'll have better luck at her next job

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I knew Macy's would eventually get around to making it official!

Welcome to DU.

Edit: "Theresa" is probably female, but 'ya never know with those goofy pinko's. :hi:

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a conservative who would prefer not to read Christmas stories that have nothing to do with Jesus Christ's birth.

it appears the teacher has written a couple of books... and is Christian.

Doncha love the internet?!

and if it's not, THAT will make a good story too.

...or from "big kids", I have a problem with this teacher's unilateral decision to usurp the parent's authority. Parents allow their kids to believe in Santa because it's fun! This sub has no right to trump them.

However, I too, smell a right wing "War on Christmas/Christianity" circle jerk lurking in he cess poll!

But I knew since I was in preschool that Santa never existed... but of course I'm jewish ^^;

I remember getting in arguments in K-3rd grade about whether Santa was real. I was the factual debater. "How can a fat man get down a chimney?" "Reindeer can't fly." "You live in an apartment how is Santa going to get in?"

and said, "That Rudolph!" Where I replied, "Uh, no. That's a star."

Back in 1st grade this was. Major science geek.

The teacher is claimed to have said about “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” that "The poem has great literary value..."

Well, if true, she should be fired for that alone.

And this: <Schaeffer got off the school bus later that day, dragging her backpack in the mud, tears in her angry little eyes...“‘Why didn’t you tell me Santa Claus died?’”>

WTF? Why not just say the kid was set adrift on an ice-floe? If you're going to create a melodrama, well then DO IT! And name the kid "Cindy Lou Who" while you're at it.

No, I don't believe this story. It smacks of right-wing horseshit.

It's amazing how many people in this thread don't.

This story is exaggerated. To what extent isn't clear but it's obviously a smear piece. C'mon people, don't be so bloody kneejerk. Think about it.

Unless the reporter actually WITNESSED these events, this story DEFINITELY doesn't ring true.

:headbang:
rocknation

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/096569559X/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-7282031-7969738?%5Fencoding=UTF8&n=507846

I thought the story was bs, too, so I did a little research. It may in fact be true, but the teacher looks like a fundamentalist, to me.

Interesting... no?

Sounds like a loony to me. LOL

I mean, let kids believe this stuff while they are young. By the time they're ten they would figure out it's nothing more than a myth anyways.

It's all in fun regardless. I always knew that Santa wassn't real but it fun believing it anyways. I mean, I'm non Christian but we celebratetd the commercial aspect regardless. We kept tehe tree and haad presents...

But every year, from when I was about 6 or so, whehn I realized somethingn had to be returned or exchanged...At that point I found it odd thaht Santa would leave receipts...

While it is one step removed from religion, it assumes all the kids celebrate Christmas.

They call him Papa Noel.

Just pointing that out.

Oh - and my fiance is Jewish and his family always did Santa, too.

It's secular.

But I don't know all of them!

Muslims in Middle Eastern countries that have more of a mixed population like Lebanon and Palestine take part in celebrations. They visit their Christian neighbors and go to Christmas celebrations. I'm Muslim and none of the Muslims I know have ever talked about a Santa or a Papa Noel. You might be talking about a very small fraction.

Once again:

Public Schoool teachers can't tell Christian kids Jesus isn't real

They can't force Jewish kids to believe he is their messiah

They can't tell Muslim kids that Allah isn't there

And so on and so on.

Small children shouldn't be toyed with (pardon the pun.) They derive security from the parents' morals and traditions and beliefs, and no teacher should interfere with that bond.

That's what high school and college are for.

Can't we leave even ONE little bit of magic for kids nowadays? This is not a teacher's place.

God help us when she gets to the Great Pumpkin.

So you guys are telling me santa is not real? In All truthfulness I alway knew because I am half jewish

But I'll tell you right now, Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus.

You would think the teacher had flogged a live reindeer to death in front of the kids rather than (allegedly) telling them a fantasy character doesn't exist. While I think the better course of action, assuming she did this, would have been to not recite the poem at all, the overwrought relaying of the situation is just blowing it out of proportion. :eyes:

admit to her that there is no santa claus. sometimes she teases me about it but i just won't say he isn't real. matter of fact i keep telling her he is. she's seventeen and very smart--she's seen presents stashed away for her before xmas every year for years now. but i absolutely will not tell her that santa claus is not real.

it's kinda fun. there are certain things we love to drive each other crazy about. this is a big one. it's like a challenge for her to get me to slip or say he isn't real. it's a challenge for me to not slip and say of course he isn't real.

First there is a Santa Claus
Then there is no Santa Claus
Then there is.

Reality is the funnest game EVER!

Just another instance of a conformist culture quashing the idea of kids GASP using their imaginations and dreaming!